On a mission for more informed decisions about nature

January 2013: We start the year by taking a look at IUCN’s role in the newly-established ‘platform’ to assess the state of biodiversity, the Earth’s fragile ecosystems and the essential services they provide to all of us.

Last year more than 90 governments agreed to establish IPBES – the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.

The aim of IPBES is to provide the latest science and knowledge to support more informed decisions on how biodiversity and ecosystem services are conserved and used around the world. IUCN plays a key role in providing this science and knowledge.

The first IPBES plenary meeting will be held in Bonn, Germany from 21 to 26 January, hosted by the Government of Germany. It will aim to agree on the next steps needed to put the IPBES work programme into operation.

IUCN believes that better knowledge about biodiversity, the threats it faces and the conservation measures that can be taken, will help drive action.

By combining world-class knowledge, standards and tools with a mobilized network of more than 1,000 member organizations, both government and civil society, as well as some 11,000 experts in six Commissions around the world, we aim to generate real change in policies and action on the ground to conserve biodiversity.

There are already several mechanisms at the national, regional and global level designed to ensure that scientific information is considered when designing policies or making decisions, including those under the international environmental treaties. But there is no global mechanism recognized by the scientific and policy communities that pulls this information together, synthesizes and analyzes it for a range of sectors. In this way IPBES is similar to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Video messages

Tamar Pataridze, a newly elected member of the IPBES Multidisciplinary Expert Panel (MEP) and IUCN Regional Councillor for Eastern Europe, North and Central Asia reveals her expectations for IPBES and explains the way she sees IUCN as a Union contributing to this new global nature platform on biodiversity and its benefits. …

At the peak of the first plenary meeting, Marina von Weissenberg, IUCN Vice President and Regional Councillor for West Europe shares her dream of IPBES and the way she sees IUCN as a Union contributing to this new global nature platform on biodiversity and its benefits. …

How to represent the links between nature and people in a simple way to facilitate decision making? A diverse group of experts suggest possible ingredients of such representation. The hope is that this 'recipe' will help the work of IPBES in relating biodiversity and its benefits to human well-being, sustainability and conservation. …

Simon Stuart from IUCN's Species Survival Commission together with Günter Mitlacher from WWF Germany, an IUCN Member, Achim Steiner from UNEP and others share their expectations for IPBES at the historic first meeting of this new biodiversity platform in Bonn, Germany. …

23 Jan 2013 | Video

Opinion pieces

Diego Juffe says that better integrating IUCN’s knowledge will improve the world’s ability to make informed decisions about the environment. IUCN’s wealth of knowledge is already central to the emerging IPBES. The aim is not to reinvent the wheel, but to make sure this knowledge is made easily available and most useful to those that can help tackle biodiversity loss. …

Next week, 21-26 January, will see the first plenary meeting of the new Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). More than 600 delegates will descend on Bonn, Germany, to try to establish rules for how the platform will operate. Why the world needs IPBES? …

17 Jan 2013 | Article

Other highlights

Have you ever wondered how to represent the links between nature and people in a simple way to facilitate decision making? A diverse group of experts share their tips in addressing this very challenge and suggest possible ingredients of such a representation. The hope is that this 'recipe' will help the work of the top new nature platform (IPBES) in relating biodiversity and its benefits to human well-being, sustainability and conservation. …

This week, more than 100 governments are gathered in Bonn for the first plenary meeting of the new global platform linking science and policy on biodiversity and its benefits (IPBES). Right at the heart of the buzzing crowd, is also a diverse group of other stakeholders and partners, including IUCN and its Members. What are they calling for and will the governments answer? …

IUCN experts are busy preparing their input to the first plenary meeting of the Intergovernmental science-policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) that takes place 21 to 26 January in Bonn, Germany. …

IUCN and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) recently issued a briefing on business and biodiversity science, which highlights a variety of interactions and opportunities, as well as the current lack of synergies. This briefing also addresses the latest developments of the global expertise on biodiversity and ecosystem services (BES). …